A Track Log Tutorial

By Dale DeWeese

Overview

The AviationMaps Track Log feature is a great utility for recording your GPS flight path and later viewing the 3-D path in either Google Earth for Desktops or Google Earth for Mobile. Here is an example of what you can expect to see when viewing a Track Log with Google Earth:

AviationMaps Track Log Viewed in Google Earth

A Track Log recording is Started, Stopped, and Uploaded from within the AviationMaps application. Each of your Track Log data files is uploaded to an Avilution web server location. These Track Log files are automatically translated to “.kmz/.kml” files that Google Earth can open. Once opened with Google Earth, you may watch (play, pause, skip-forward/back) a replay of the flight path. Or, you may manipulate a particular flight path screenshot view by zooming in/out, pitching up/down, and yawing left/right to capture just about any view that you can imagine. Not only is a Track Log a great tool to critique your pattern and flight plan precision, but it also allows you to digitally capture and share an overview of those meaningful flights.

(Note: Google Earth for Desktops offers many more features and will open the .kmz/.kml Track Log files directly, whereas Google Earth for Mobile requires a simple “work-around” to open them. This is a current limitation of Google Earth for Mobile, not AviationMaps. I use Google Earth for Mobile for convenience.)

Press the status window to the left of Track Log/Crumbs to access the Track Log submenu

Press Start to begin recording your Track Log. Your Track Log will be Displayed by default and will be represented on your screen by small, white digital “crumbs”. Hiding or displaying the crumbs trail will not affect the Track Log recording process.

Press the status window to the left of Track Log/Crumbs to access the Track Log submenu

Press the Upload option from the Track Log submenu. (Note: The Upload option is not available until you have first stopped your Track Log recording.) An “Uploading” status box will appear, followed by the message “Upload Successful – View at http://services.avilution.com/ss/skytracker”, near the bottom of your screen.

Navigate to “http://services.avilution.com/ss/skytracker“. The first time you access the site, you will most likely be prompted for your Google Username and Password credentials that you used for your AviationMaps subscription. Enter this info, and you will be directed to the page with your uploaded Track Log data. Don’t forget to bookmark this page for future access.

You can expect to see a Track Log data page similar tothis. Each line represents a separate Track Log file which is identified with a time-date stamp the instant you uploaded the file. You have the choice of downloading either a .kmz, .kml, or .raw data file. I recommend you download and archive the “.kmz” file, as it is a compressed version of the .kml file – typically 1/10 the size. (If you would like to learn more about .kmz and .kml files, read this link.

Opening the .kmz/.kml file with Google Earth:

We are almost done! How you open the .kmz/.kml file depends on whether you are using Google Earth for Desktops or Google Earth for Mobile.

Google Earth for Desktops: You can simply double-click on the .kmz file to launch Google Earth and open the Track Log file. Or, you may launch the Google Earth application first – then use File > Open and navigate to your saved .kmz file. In either case, you will start with a “satellite” view looking down on your recorded flight path. Double-click the “Fly this SkyTracker Log” entry within the open .kmz file to launch the playback feature of your Track Log. If you would like to experiment with the .kmz Track Log pictured at the beginning of this article, you may download it from here.

Google Earth for Mobile: To launch the .kmz file with your Android mobile device, Gmail the .kmz file as an attachment to yourself. Open the Gmail message with your mobile device and save the attached .kmz file. Then, choose the “View” option for the attached file. This will launch the Google Earth for Mobile application and open the Track Log file in playback mode. I have had no success just double-clicking on the .kmz file with my Android tablet, and you do not have a File > Open option within the Mobile version of Google Earth, so try the Gmail attachment method described above.

The above should get you started with the AviationMaps Track Log feature. Recording your flight path is a great built-in feature of AviationMaps. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to give it a try.